Her Guardians: Her Guardians Trilogy Book 1 (40 page)

“Sure, sure.”
She waved her hands at him, and he turned and walked out the door.

“Wow,
he seems smitten for the kitten.” I giggled, causing Kali to do the same.

“Yes, it looks that way
, doesn’t it? I guess he likes my purring.” She stood up from my desk with a happy grin. “Come on then. What are you waiting for?”

L
ooking around my empty desk, I shrugged. “Nothing, I guess. Let’s go.”

**********

Pretty soon, we were in the bar and ordering our drinks. When they came, we sat down at our seats as I took my first sip of my brandy and coke. I couldn’t help but smile. I guess I will never look at this drink the same way again.

“I guess your cherry is still intact?”

I rolled my eyes at Kali. “You guessed right.”

“Why don’t you lose it already?
You really don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Kali, it’s not as simple as that
, is it? I have to find someone first before I give my cherry away.”

With a flick of her hair
, she sipped her drink. “What about you and Michael? Or Stephen, for that matter?”

I sighed
, not knowing what to think anymore. “It’s really hard.”

Kali winked at me
. “Well, it could be if you rubbed them the right way.”

“Kali!” I shouted
, giggling again. “When will you ever stop?”

“Just saying.
Anyway, what’s happened with that girl you saved? What was her name?”

“Lisa-Marie.
She’s fine.” I paused, smiling for a moment. “She’s met someone and is happier than ever. It’s definitely times like this that make me feel blessed for the good things I can do. If she had died, her girlfriend would have been robbed of her partner, and her family would have been devastated.”

“Hold up
a sec. Did you say girlfriend?” She looked shocked.

I didn’t know how to take her reaction.
“Yes, why? What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing.”
She shook her head. “I just didn’t know, that’s all.”

“Do you fancy another?”
I wanted to change the subject. I didn’t know whether she was comfortable with Lisa-Marie’s lifestyle or not. I didn’t want to broach the subject, just in case it started an argument. Lisa-Marie was a good person and nothing should change that. I couldn’t stand it when people got their backs up about the way people lived. Not everyone was the same. People had to learn to live with that.

“Sure, why not.”
She beamed a big grin. “Make them doubles.”

Giggling
, I rose out of my chair. “Okay. I’ll be right back.” Grabbing our glasses, I went to fetch our drinks.

“So where were you yesterday?” she asked
when I got back with the refills.

“I was with the
Chief and Stephen. We went looking for a house.”

“Why
? Is he thinking of buying?”

Oh
, shit. Now what do I say?

“Do you promise not to say an
ything if I tell you?” I looked at her. She was my friend, after all.

She straightened her back
, eager to hear the story. “Of course, Cassie. You know you can tell me anything.”

“He has a twin sister that was taken a number of years ago.
I helped him find her. She’s still alive. The only problem is that she has developed a bond with her captor. She’s even had a kid with him.”

Kali gasped.
“Oh, my fucking god!” Her mouth was wide with shock. “What happened?”

“We got the police
to come and the abductor was arrested. The only problem is, the Chief’s sister’s not speaking with him. She blames him for taking her loved one away. It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.”

“So he knows about your gift?”

I could tell she looked genuinely fascinated. Her face was practically animated. “Yes. I felt I had to tell him. That business with me in the archives… I was looking into Mark Richards.”

Kali frowned a little.
“Who’s that again?”

“The guy who ran over the little boy.
He did it because of drugs.” She looked completely confused and I couldn’t blame her. It was a hell of a lot to take in.

“Hold up a sec
. Start from the beginning. You’ve completely lost me.”

With a nod of my head
, I told her everything that’s been going on. She listened without interrupting, and her face looked impassive once I was done.

“You have to be careful, Cassie.
You could get yourself into a whole lot of danger with all this. You should never have put yourself in harm’s way with that Richards guy. I appreciate you wanting to help, but I want an alive friend.”

“I know.
” I reached out and touched her arm. “I appreciate that.”

We stay
ed for a couple of more hours and got truly drunk. It was only when I started slurring my words that I thought it was time to go.

“You know, Miss Carmichael, you really
are a very bad influence on me,” I mumbled, leaning into her a little.

Nudging me back, Kali winked.
“I’m sorry, Miss Johnson. Do you want me to take you home?”

“No
. I’m sure I’ll be okay. Just a five minute walk for me. You get going and see to Hamish. I know he’s just dying to hear you purr.” I giggled slightly as we made our way outside.

“Okay,” she said
, laughing right back. “No need to tell me twice. Love you, babes, and see you tomorrow.”

“Love you
, too. ‘Bye, Kali.”

We hug
ged each other and started heading in the opposite direction. It was pitch black and it seemed to be getting colder by the day. I made sure I put my gloves on and tried to be as steady as I could, taking my first steps back towards home.

It was when I
was halfway there that I slipped and nearly fell. Luckily for me, someone was around to break my fall. I felt his arms around me as he held me still.

O
nce I gathered myself, I turned around to thank my saviour. I was face-to-face with Mark Richards.

“Well
, hello. That’s twice you’ve practically fallen into my arms now. Do you think someone’s trying to tell us something?”

“Oh
, hi.” I was suddenly very nervous as I gazed upon his tattooed face. “I’m sorry—again.” I tried chuckling, but failed miserably.

“Been for a drink?”

“Yes, sorry. Is it that obvious?”

He nodded his head with a shrug.
“Not too much. Do you fancy another?”

“No
, thank you. I was just on my way home.” I tried to move around him, but he just moved in front of me.

“You sure you can’t afford just one little drink with me?
I promise I won’t bite.”

My hear
t began thumping with fear. I really didn’t want to be anywhere near him, let alone go for a drink with him.

“No, but thank you anyway.
I have to get home.”

“And who are you going home to?”

“My boyfriend,” I lied.

“Would that be the policeman that came out the other day?”

“Yes,” I said, lying again. He knew Michael was a big man so I gathered he wouldn’t want to mess with him.

“Why do I thin
k you’re lying to me?”

“Why would I lie to you?”
Glancing away, I cleared my throat, but cursed myself for looking so anxious.

“I don’t know.
Maybe I make you nervous.
Do
I make you nervous?” He tried to smile, but it did nothing to alleviate my obvious nerves.

“You know
, I’m a very wealthy man. A lot of women would find that attractive.” He lifted his finger up and stroked my arm.

I immediately stiffen
ed. “I’m sure a lot of women would. Money doesn’t mean everything to me, though. It’s the heart you have that counts.”

He smiled
at that. “You really are a nice girl, aren’t you? Not many women would think like you. A lot of women just want me for my money.”

I suddenly thought that didn’t make sense.
“Then why did you try to use that to your advantage?”

Richards raised his eyebrow with a smirk.
“Very good, Cassie. I’m starting to like you even more.”

I immediately felt the panic rise as I realised he had called me by my name.
“How do you know my name?”

“PC Andrews called you by that name when we bumped into each other the last time.
Remember?”

“Of course.
” I sighed, breathing a little easier.

“You’re very pretty, you know that?”

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest.”

“And very modest, too.
Come. We must go for that drink. I insist. I know somewhere just around the corner we could go.”

“No, thank you.
I really must be going now.”

I start
ed to walk past him, but he grabbed my arm. “Why won’t you go for a drink with me?”

He was going to say more
, but a voice bellowed from the darkness. “Get your hands off her…now!” Michael was marching towards him, chest out, fists clenched.

“Sorry.
” Richards released me and instantly put his hands up in surrender. “It was a friendly gesture for a drink. She told me you two were together, but I guess I didn’t believe her.”

Michael looked
at me, but all I could do was hang my head.

“Well
, as you can imagine, I have a problem with other people touching my girl.”

Richards stepped away and held out his hands.
“Of course. No harm done. I’ll be on my way.”

He left
as quickly as he could and I immediately sighed with relief. I was about to say thank you when Michael’s phone rang.

“Andrews!
” The anger still radiated in his voice, causing me to jump. “I wasn’t going to stand there and let him touch her… Are you out of your mind?” He looked at me, silently asking if I was okay, so I nodded.

“I don’t care about compromising the investigation.
I’m not going to just stand there and let him touch Cassie. Besides, he didn’t suspect anything.” He paused for a moment, grunted a couple of times, then huffed. “Fine. Have it your way. I don’t care.” With a flick of his hand, he abruptly ended the call.

“Have I got
ten you into trouble?” I searched his eyes.

“Nothing I can’t handle.
I wasn’t going to just stand there and let him maul you like that.”

“I was fine.”

“No, you weren’t, Cassie. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer.”

Realising he just sprung from nowhere
, I had to know. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Were you following him…or me?”

He scratched
his head. “Well, Mark Richards is under investigation and you need protecting.”

“That’s not answe
ring the question.” I was beginning to get a little miffed with his lack of enthusiasm to answer.

“I think I answered it.”

“I’m going home.” I turned and walked away.

“Hey, Cassie, wait
up.” He ran after me and pulled on my arm. “Listen, I’m sorry, okay? I care about you deeply and I don’t want to see you hurt. You can understand that, can’t you?”

I sighed
, feeling a little pang of guilt tug at my insides. “I’m sorry, too. I know you have my best interest at heart and I do appreciate that.”

“No need to apologise.
Come. Let me get you home. You seemed to have been drinking this evening.”

“Is it really that obvious?”
I was feeling a little more sober after my run-in with the infamous Mr. Richards.

“You
do kind of smell like a brewery.” He placed his arm around my shoulders and kissed my head as we walked.

“I’m sorry,” I offered, thinking I must smell pretty bad.

“No need to be. I think it’s kind of sexy on you.”

I nudged at him with a giggle.
“Oh, you do, do you?”

“Yes.
” He laughed loudly, pulling me closer to him. “It’s rather intoxicating.”

“Ha, ha, bloody funny, Mr
. Andrews.” I watched as he thought about what to say next.

“I can be at times.”

I smiled and breathed in his sweet scent as we neared my flat. It looked kind of dark and uninviting all of a sudden.

At the top
of the stairs, Michael embraced me and I instantly felt at home in his arms. It was something I didn’t want to lose right now.